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Anatomy & Physiology Exam 2 Study Guide Flashcards

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  • Types of muscle tissue

    The three types are skeletal muscle, cardiac muscle, and smooth muscle. Skeletal muscles are voluntary and attached to bones.

  • Primary functions of skeletal muscle

    Produce movement, maintain posture, support soft tissues, guard entrances/exits, and maintain body temperature.

  • Connective tissue layers in skeletal muscle

    Each muscle fiber is surrounded by endomysium, bundles by perimysium, and the entire muscle by epimysium. Tendons or aponeuroses connect muscles to bones.

  • Sarcomere structure and contraction

    Sarcomeres are functional units with thin (actin) and thick (myosin) filaments. Contraction occurs by thin filaments sliding past thick filaments, shortening the sarcomere.

  • Sliding filament theory

    Myosin heads bind to active sites on actin, pivot to pull filaments, then detach and reset. Tropomyosin and troponin regulate access to active sites.

  • Neuromuscular junction function

    Neurons release acetylcholine (ACh) at the synaptic cleft, triggering an action potential in the muscle fiber's sarcolemma, leading to calcium release and contraction.

  • Muscle twitch and summation

    A twitch is a single contraction-relaxation cycle. Repeated stimuli before relaxation cause summation, leading to incomplete or complete tetanus.

  • Muscle contraction energy sources

    ATP powers contraction. Creatine phosphate regenerates ATP quickly. Aerobic metabolism provides most ATP at rest; glycolysis supports peak activity anaerobically.

  • Muscle fatigue causes

    Fatigue results from pH drop due to hydrogen ion buildup, energy depletion, or other factors preventing contraction.

  • Fast vs. slow muscle fibers

    Fast fibers contract quickly, have large glycogen stores, and fatigue rapidly. Slow fibers contract slowly, have many mitochondria and myoglobin, and resist fatigue.

  • Cardiac muscle characteristics

    Smaller cells with single nucleus, intercalated discs, automaticity, longer contractions, and inability to undergo tetanus.

  • Smooth muscle features

    Nonstriated, involuntary, can contract over a wide range of lengths, often lacks direct motor neuron control.

  • Major divisions of the nervous system

    Central nervous system (CNS): brain and spinal cord. Peripheral nervous system (PNS): all nervous tissue outside CNS.

  • Functional divisions of the PNS

    Afferent division brings sensory info to CNS; efferent division carries motor commands. Efferent includes somatic (voluntary) and autonomic (involuntary) systems.

  • Types of neurons

    Sensory neurons (afferent), motor neurons (efferent), and interneurons (association neurons) that connect sensory and motor neurons.

  • Neuroglia functions

    Support neurons by maintaining environment, myelinating axons, acting as phagocytes, and producing cerebrospinal fluid.

  • Resting membrane potential

    Maintained by sodium-potassium pump balancing sodium ion gain and potassium ion loss, creating a polarized membrane.

  • Action potential phases

    Depolarization to threshold, opening of voltage-gated sodium channels, repolarization by potassium channels, and return to resting state.

  • Saltatory vs. continuous propagation

    Saltatory propagation occurs in myelinated axons, jumping between nodes of Ranvier; continuous propagation occurs along unmyelinated membranes.

  • Synapse and neurotransmitter role

    Neurons communicate at synapses via neurotransmitters like acetylcholine, which is broken down by acetylcholinesterase to end the signal.

  • Meninges layers

    Dura mater (outer), arachnoid (middle), and pia mater (inner) protect and support the brain and spinal cord.

  • Spinal cord structure

    Contains gray matter (neuron cell bodies) surrounded by white matter (myelinated axons), with 31 pairs of spinal nerves.

  • Brain regions and functions

    Cerebrum: conscious thought and motor control; diencephalon: relay and integration; brainstem: autonomic control; cerebellum: coordination and posture.

  • Autonomic nervous system divisions

    Sympathetic division (fight or flight) arises from thoracic/lumbar spinal segments; parasympathetic division (rest and digest) from brainstem and sacral segments.

  • General sensory receptor types

    Nociceptors (pain), thermoreceptors (temperature), mechanoreceptors (touch, pressure), baroreceptors (pressure changes), and proprioceptors (body position).

  • Olfactory receptors

    Modified neurons in olfactory epithelium that detect chemical stimuli dissolved in mucus, connected to limbic and hypothalamic areas.

  • Taste receptor structure

    Taste buds contain gustatory epithelial cells with taste hairs that detect sweet, salty, sour, bitter, umami, and water tastes.

  • Eye layers and functions

    Fibrous layer (sclera, cornea), vascular layer (iris, ciliary body, choroid), and inner layer (retina with rods and cones).

  • Photoreceptor function

    Rods detect light intensity; cones detect color. Visual pigments absorb light and alter neurotransmitter release to bipolar cells.

  • Inner ear structures for hearing and balance

    Vestibule and semicircular canals detect equilibrium; cochlea detects sound. Hair cells with stereocilia transduce mechanical stimuli.